Sessions praised for review of Obama anti-police policies

April 4, 2017

April 4, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions for conducting a review of consent decrees between the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and municipalities regulating police departments:

“Former President Barack Obama started a dangerous trend to nationalization of local police via consent decrees between the DOJ Civil Rights Division and municipalities, governing the use of force, searches, stops and the like. Given the broad ramifications of regulating police departments, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is wise to take a step back from this policy to determine the proper role of the federal government in local policing, if any. At a time when cities like Chicago and Baltimore face horrifying homicide rates that disproportionately impact their least fortunate citizens, it would be irresponsible to blindly continue Obama’s war on the police.

“We applaud the review of these policies, and look forward to any recommendations by Sessions to protect civil rights and restore law and order, which are not mutually exclusive.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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DOJ action against Baltimore police part of national takeover of local police

August 10, 2016

Aug. 10, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government today issued the following statement in response to findings by the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division against the Baltimore Police Department:

“The courts in Baltimore have already found that Baltimore police were not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing in the death of Freddie Gray. The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division reopening and pouring salt in this wound is a travesty both for the people of Baltimore, and for law enforcement officers across the country who risk their lives every day to keep the peace. If not for the DOJ’s callous politicization of incidents in Ferguson and Baltimore, communities and police might have already come together in an honest dialogue on how to prevent future tragedies. Unfortunately, President Obama would rather attempt to score cheap political points with key voting constituencies than to allow reconciliation.

“The DOJ action in Baltimore is just the first step by the Obama administration to federalize police activity in that city. Eventually, this will become a federal court order consent decree, where the DOJ will sue Baltimore, and the city will settle without contest, agreeing to federal regulation, as has been done in cities across the nation. This regime has been endorsed by a representative of the UN Human Rights Council, and involves DOJ entering into consent decrees with cities to regulate every aspect of policing, including searches, stops and the use of force. This is the nationalization of local policing done through judicial fiat that Congress would never approve.

“What is truly sad is that after almost 8 years in office President Obama continues to be the divider in chief, seeking political gain from creating discord.”

Attachments:

Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation Section and Matters, Law Enforcement Agencies at https://www.justice.gov/crt/special-litigation-section-cases-and-matters0#police (Includes federal court orders against cities regulating local police)

UN Backs Secret Obama Takeover of Police, By Robert Romano, Aug. 5, 2016 at http://www.lifezette.com/polizette/un-backs-secret-obama-takeover-of-police/

Statement by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association at the conclusion of his visit to the United States of America, July 27, 2016 at http://freeassembly.net/news/usa-statement/

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

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UN Human Rights Council endorses DOJ nationalization of local policing via consent decrees

August 2, 2016

Aug. 2, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued a statement in response to the statement by the United Nations Rapporteur Maina Kai urging the Justice Department Civil Rights Division to federalize every police department in the country via consent decrees:

“The UN Human Rights Council, on which China and Venezuela and Cuba sit, is urging the Department of Justice to nationalize as many as 18,000 local police jurisdictions. That is appalling on its face, but what’s worse is Justice has already been regulating local police for years. These sue and settle lawsuits have been implemented in Newark, N.J., Miami, Fla., Los Angeles, Calif., Ferguson, Mo., Chicago, Ill. and others. Requirements include how searches are conducted, the use of force, the mandatory use of on-body cameras by the police, and so on. The agreements impose years-long compliance review regimes and implementation deadlines and regular reviews by federal bureaucrats.

“The Obama administration has been pursuing these cases for years, and it has largely gone unnoticed. Congress never authorized federal regulation of local police departments and if Obama had requested it legislatively, they likely would have said no. The DOJ has been taking over local police under Congress’ noses using an expansive interpretation of federal law. The ball was dropped but now it must be picked up and Congress needs to stop the nationalizing of local police departments. The fact that the UN Human Rights Council — which includes some of the worst abusers of human rights in the world that hate the U.S. — is cheering for this DOJ national takeover of the police should tell members everything they need to know.

“It’s time to support local police, not render them impotent via federal restrictions against maintaining law and order. No less than the very existence of local government is at stake.”

Attachments:

Statement by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association at the conclusion of his visit to the United States of America, Maina Kai, July 27, 2016 at http://freeassembly.net/news/usa-statement/ , “The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice has provided oversight and recommendations for improvement of police services in a number of cities with consent decrees. This is one of the most effective ways to reduce discrimination in law enforcement and it needs to be beefed up and increased to cover as many of the 18,000-plus local law enforcement jurisdictions.”

“Obama’s war on the police is real,” Robert Romano, Aug. 2, 2016 at  https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2016/07/obamas-war-on-the-police-is-real

“An outsider tours American and chronicles its enduring racism,” Max Bearak, Washington Post, Aug. 1, 2016 at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/08/01/sometimes-it-takes-an-outsider-to-crystallize-americas-enduring-racism/

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